eCourts: A New Dawn for The Timely Dispensation of Justice

Abstract

In Pakistan, un-due delayed justice has persisted for a long time. Timely dispensation of justice is highly significant, not only for the litigants but also for maintaining respect and confidence towards the judiciary as an institution. Honourable Justice Mansoor Ali Shah has, time and again, called attention to the fact that the traditional closed architecture of our courts cannot address this long-standing issue of delayed justice. Therefore, electronic courts (eCourts) have become a need of time. eCourts will provide the opportunity to the Judges, Lawyers, litigants, and witnesses to appear in the court virtually, thereby reducing the cost of travelling and saving time for the court. This paper explores the concept of the eCourts. It begins by tracing the origin of the eCourts, followed by an evaluation of the backlog of cases pending adjudication and the causes thereof. It proposes that a full-fledged virtual court system is practicable at all levels of the judiciary in Pakistan and recommends the reforms that need to be made to the existing system. It also highlights the various challenges that might arise and provides suggestions for effectively dealing with the same.